RIO Ferdinand yesterday gave his full support to little brother Anton and warned that racism in football is back and more prominent than ever.

The Manchester United defender also said he couldn’t care less if John Terry played against him today for Chelsea.

Rio, 33, opened up about the negative impact racism is having in football after a series of ­incidents involving fans.

He said: “I feel like I’ve almost been fooled a little bit.

“You look back to John Barnes and the players like that and what they had to deal with, the bananas on the pitch etc.

“I’ve always been someone who championed our country for making greater strides and we have.

“I thought that area had gone but it seems it’s like it was just put to one side for a while and now it is coming out more prominent.”

“I hope it’s just a group of small-minded people who are making it newsworthy at the moment, but there are still great strides to be made.”

Today Manchester United will play Chelsea at London’s Stamford Bridge, but an injury to Terry means there will be no awkward confrontation between the two players.

Rio said: “I’ll be honest I couldn’t care less if he played or not.

“I just care about playing for Manchester United and winning the game. That’s all I am thinking about.

“Anton is my little brother so we’ve grown up together and I looked after him when we were kids.

“So if something is going to affect him and hurt him then I’m always going to be a shoulder to lean on.

“My brother has not brought no accusations to anyone. He’s not the accused but he’s had to sit there and take abuse, which is very ­disappointing, from some small-minded people who don’t see what effect that has.”